Broadcast and system information for machine type communication

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices are described for facilitating Machine Type Communication in a wireless communications system. Link budget-limited MTC devices, may be supported. An MTC physical broadcast channel may be utilized for the Machine Type Communication. The MTC physical broadcast channel may be transmitted over one or more subframes different from a regular physical broadcast channel. The payload for the MTC physical broadcast channel may be reduced. The MTC physical broadcast channel may also be utilized to indicate the presence of paging and/or to indicate a change in system information. Some embodiments utilize one or more MTC-specific system information blocks. The MTC-specific system information blocks may combine and/or simplify multiple system information blocks. The location of the MTC system information blocks may be predetermined or information about their location may be transmitted over the MTC physical broadcast channel. An enhanced paging channel may be used to indicate system information updates.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for facilitating Machine Type Communication (MTC) in a wireless communications system, comprising:
 configuring an MTC-specific system information block that comprises first system information included in a first system information block and second system information included in a second system information block, wherein the first system information block and the second system information block are each selected from a group that consists of system information block  1  (SIB 1 ), system information block  2  (SIB 2 ), and system information block  12  (SIB 12 ); and 
 transmitting the MTC-specific system information block to a plurality of MTC devices. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises fields for:
 cell access information, scheduling information for other system information blocks, and radio resource configuration information. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises:
 fields for cell access information and cell selection information; or 
 fields for scheduling information for other system information blocks. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises fields for:
 MTC random access channel (RACH) configuration information or MTC paging channel configuration information. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block consists of fields for:
 physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration information, power control, and a timer. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises:
 fields for radio resource configuration information other than physical uplink control channel (PUSCH) configuration information and sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block is located at one or more predetermined locations. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more predetermined locations are a function of a cell ID, a cyclic prefix length, and a carrier configuration. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting information regarding one or more locations of the MTC-specific system information block over an MTC physical broadcast channel. 
 
     
     
       10. An apparatus for facilitating Machine Type Communication (MTC) in a wireless communications system, comprising:
 means for configuring an MTC-specific system information block that comprises first system information included in a first system information block and second system information included in a second system information block, wherein the first system information block and the second system information block are each selected from a group that consists of system information block  1  (SIB 1 ), system information block  2  (SIB 2 ), and system information block  12  (SIB 12 ); and 
 a transceiver configured to transmit the MTC-specific system information block to a plurality of MTC devices. 
 
     
     
       11. An apparatus for facilitating Machine Type Communication (MTC) in a wireless communications system, comprising:
 a processor; 
 memory in electronic communication with the processor; and 
 instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: 
 configure an MTC-specific system information block that comprises first system information included in a first system information block and second system information included in a second system information block, wherein the first system information block and the second system information block are each selected from a group that consists of system information block  1  (SIB 1 ), system information block  2  (SIB 2 ), and system information block  12  (SIB 12 ); and 
 transmit the MTC-specific system information block. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises fields for:
 cell access information, scheduling information for other system information blocks, and radio resource configuration information. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises:
 fields for cell access information and cell selection information; or 
 fields for scheduling information for other system information blocks. 
 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises fields for:
 MTC random access channel (RACH) configuration information or MTC paging channel configuration information. 
 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block consists of fields for:
 physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration information, power control, and a timer. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block comprises:
 fields for radio resource configuration information other than physical uplink control channel (PUSCH) configuration information and sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration information. 
 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the MTC-specific system information block is located at one or more predetermined locations. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more predetermined locations are a function of a cell ID, a cyclic prefix length, and a carrier configuration. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
 transmit information regarding one or more locations of the MTC-specific system information block over an MTC physical broadcast channel. 
 
     
     
       20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for Machine Type Communication (MTC) in a wireless communications system, the code comprising instructions executable to:
 transmit an MTC-specific system information block that comprises first system information included in a first system information block and second system information included in a second system information block, wherein the first system information block and the second system information block are each selected from a group that consists of system information block  1  (SIB 1 ), system information block  2  (SIB 2 ), and system information block  12  (SIB 12 ); and 
 transmit the MTC-specific system information block to a plurality of MTC devices.